Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR)

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. cut its position in shares of The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) by 24.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 26,709 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,596 shares during the period. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Kroger were worth $1,530,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Kroger by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 117,091 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,709,000 after buying an additional 6,797 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Kroger by 141.8% during the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 25,797 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,478,000 after purchasing an additional 15,130 shares in the last quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kroger during the third quarter worth about $287,000. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Kroger by 32.7% during the 3rd quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $430,000 after purchasing an additional 1,848 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kroger by 5.4% in the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 33,403 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,914,000 after acquiring an additional 1,725 shares during the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KR has been the topic of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Kroger from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Melius Research initiated coverage on shares of Kroger in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 target price on shares of Kroger in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Kroger from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Kroger from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.09.

Insider Transactions at Kroger

In related news, VP Carin L. Fike sold 3,010 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.57, for a total transaction of $167,265.70. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 47,593 shares in the company, valued at $2,644,743.01. This trade represents a 5.95 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Valerie L. Jabbar sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.91, for a total value of $167,730.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 74,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,142,036.44. This represents a 3.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,932 shares of company stock valued at $721,243. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Kroger Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of KR stock opened at $59.08 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $56.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $54.07. The Kroger Co. has a fifty-two week low of $42.10 and a fifty-two week high of $60.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.87.

Kroger (NYSE:KR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 12th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. Kroger had a net margin of 1.86% and a return on equity of 28.54%. The firm had revenue of $33.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.96 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that The Kroger Co. will post 4.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kroger Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.17%. Kroger’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.51%.

Kroger Profile

The Kroger Co operates as a food and drug retailer in the United States. The company operates combination food and drug stores, multi-department stores, marketplace stores, and price impact warehouses. Its combination food and drug stores offer natural food and organic sections, pharmacies, general merchandise, pet centers, fresh seafood, and organic produce; and multi-department stores provide apparel, home fashion and furnishings, outdoor living, electronics, automotive products, and toys.